…
read moreNew York — Google fired 28 employees following a disruptive sit-down protest over the tech giant’s contract with the Israeli government, a Google spokesperson said Thursday. The Tuesday demonstration was organized by the group “No Tech for Apartheid,” which has long opposed “Project Nimbus,” Google’s joint $1.2 billion contract with Amazon to provide cloud services to…
read moreA gold mine in Zimbabwe has turned its former dumpsite into a solar station, generating all the energy it needs for operations at the mine and releasing excess energy into the national grid. Located in Zimbabwe’s southwestern Bubi district, some 500 kilometers from the capital, the project has drawn praise from environmentalists. Columbus Mavhunga has…
read moreDenver, Colo. — Hours after she escaped the Columbine High School shooting, 14-year-old Missy Mendo slept between her parents in bed, still wearing the shoes she had on when she fled her math class. She wanted to be ready to run. Twenty-five years later, and with Mendo now a mother herself, the trauma from that horrific…
read morewashington — U.S. intelligence and security agencies are trying to prepare election officials for a wave of new attacks aiming to destroy voter confidence in November’s presidential election, just as a series of reports warn some familiar adversaries are starting to ramp up their efforts. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the Office…
read moreLONDON — Patients in the U.K. and European Union are facing shortages of vital medicines such as antibiotics and epilepsy medication, research published Thursday found. The report by Britain’s Nuffield Trust think-tank found the situation had become a “new normal” in the U.K. and was “also having a serious impact in EU countries.” Mark Dayan, Brexit…
read morestate department — The United States warned China on Wednesday against helping Russia in its war on Ukraine and said it is “prepared to take further steps as necessary.” In Italy, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations gathered to reaffirm their support for Ukraine’s defense. “We believe that the PRC is supporting…
read morephoenix, arizona — Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday tried repeatedly to repeal an 1864 ban on abortion but failed to get the Republican support they needed against the Civil War-era measure poised to become state law again. In four votes, the chamber deadlocked 30-30 on a procedural motion that would have allowed…
read moreWashington — China is bolstering its space capabilities and is using its civilian program to mask its military objectives, the head of the U.S. space agency said Wednesday, warning that Washington must remain vigilant. “China has made extraordinary strides especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson told…
read moreGoma — In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, specifically in the Beni and Butembo region, parents are finding it hard getting vaccines for their children. Health care providers report that vaccines have been in short supply for several months, leaving thousands of children unvaccinated. Parents worried about their children’s health are calling on authorities to…
read moreU.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump is in a New York courtroom this week for jury selection in a case about his allegedly falsifying business records. Meanwhile, his Democratic opponent President Joe Biden is on the campaign trail talking about the candidates’ competing visions of economic fairness. VOA’s Scott Stearns has our story. …
read moreWashington — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he will move to dismiss impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a move that would end the Senate trial before arguments even begin. Schumer, D-N.Y., said that the two articles of impeachment brought against the secretary over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border “fail…
read moreThe Biden Administration has launched a new effort to tackle the drug overdose epidemic in the United States, which in 2022 took more than 100,000 lives, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But as VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, some critics say there are some gaps in the government’s strategy to…
read moreWashington — The United States has barred four former officials of the Malawi government from entry because of their involvement in significant corruption, the State Department said on Wednesday. The officials designated are former solicitor general and secretary of justice Reyneck Matemba, former director of public procurement and disposal of assets John Suzi-Banda, former Malawi Police…
read moreGENEVA — Decades of progress in sexual and reproductive health are being rolled back with the poorest, most vulnerable members of society at greatest risk of losing out on lifesaving services, according to the 2024 State of World Population report. The report, issued Wednesday by the U.N. Population Fund, UNFPA, says, “The data are damning.” “Women…
read moreNEW YORK — National Public Radio has suspended a veteran editor who wrote an outside essay criticizing his employer for, in his view, journalism that reflects a liberal viewpoint with little tolerance for contrary opinions. Uri Berliner, a senior editor on NPR’s business desk, was suspended five days without pay, according to an article posted Tuesday…
read moreTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Former U.S. Sen. and two-term Florida Gov. Bob Graham, who gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks and as an early critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 87. Graham’s family announced the death Tuesday in a statement posted on…
read moreTAIPEI, Taiwan — The U.S. 7th Fleet said a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a day after U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since Nov. 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet…
read moreWashington — The United States said it is working with allies on a coordinated response to Iran’s drone and missile strikes on Israeli soil over the weekend. At the same time, it continues to urge Israel to exercise restraint and avoid igniting a wider regional conflict. President Joe Biden is “coordinating with allies and partners,…
read moreIsrael is considering how to respond to Iran’s weekend missile and drone strikes, as the United States and its allies urge the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to escalate and risk igniting a wider regional conflict. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …
read more